Petersburg’s local election is Oct. 6. There are several candidates vying for seats on the Petersburg Borough Assembly.
Donna Marsh, age 60, is running for a 3-year term. She has lived in Petersburg for over four decades and her family has a small commercial fishing business.
Marsh is no stranger to the Assembly. She served a term from 2022 until 2025, when she was not reelected.
Marsh sat down with KFSK’s Olivia Rose to talk about why she decided to run for another term.
Listen here:
The Assembly is the only contested race in Petersburg’s municipal election this fall. There are two 3-year positions, and a single 1-year term, up for election.
Of six candidates, four people, including Marsh, are running for a 3-year seat.
Find more election info on KFSK’s Voter Guide.
TRANSCRIPT:
This interview transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
MARSH: I appreciate the opportunity to serve again on the Borough Assembly. I’m in the process of relistening to meetings that I’ve missed. I’ve learned a lot in my time on there, and then the past year, a lot of reflection. I was a transplant from Idaho and this has provided me some unique opportunities.
And I hope long after I’m gone that [Petersburg’s] still a fabulous place to live and raise a family.
ROSE: What have you done in the past that makes you qualified for the role?
MARSH: Boy, I don’t know any one thing, but I think [my] desire to serve, a willingness to get out and try to serve the public, in the town that I’ve come to love.
As most people know, I did it four years ago (2022-25). It was extremely challenging, enlightening, hard — but I love the town.
ROSE: What would your priorities be if you were elected to the Assembly?
MARSH: I think the big issues are the revenue expenses.
When we’re dealing with public funds, it’s almost like a sacred trust where we have to use that with much caution.
The budget is huge monetarily, numerically, but also we have some huge issues. We’ve got repairs. We’ve got aging infrastructure with utilities, Power and Light, and all these different things.
So that’s probably the biggest thing — other than challenging issues. I mean, we’ve got cell towers. We’ve got data centers. We’ve got school funding. We’ve got all these big, big pieces coming into play.
And I think probably the most effective way I could do that, for starters, is to listen and to dig for information, talk to people.
I think our biggest asset in town is the people. So I hope to help continue to make it a great place for people, where they wanna live.
ROSE: Can you tell me one time you think the Assembly got something right in the last year or so, something you agree with?
MARSH: Well, I guess American Cruise Lines, it’s a lease now, rather than selling the property. I think that was a good one, a good move, because we still have the ultimate control, even if it’s a multi-decades year lease.
Moving cautiously on any issue is better than just going pell-mell into something.
ROSE: What about a time in the last year or so when the Assembly got something wrong that you disagreed with?
MARSH: The cell tower setbacks. The Planning Commission worked diligently to get some stuff done, and what the Assembly ended up passing was a bit different than what the Planning Commission had proposed. They [the Commission] wanted a little more teeth in the ordinance with the setbacks from cell towers to daycares and things like that.
I don’t know how I would iron that wrinkle out, but that one is a big wrinkle. I think a lot of people were left where they felt unheard. And it’s kind of hard because we’re up against what the FCC has mandated. So that’s a difficult spot to negotiate.
ROSE: So, just for the sake of the question: At the end of the day, they [the Assembly] ended up approving the ordinance, (MARSH: Mm-hmm) there’s something in code now. But you disagreed with the move to amend the ordinance to reduce the setbacks…
MARSH: I wish it had more stringent requirements, per what the Planning Commission was recommending.
ROSE: So you wished it had passed more in its original form?
MARSH: Correct.
ROSE: Okay.
In a nutshell, what do you want for Petersburg?
MARSH: Like I said initially, that it continues to be a great place to raise a family.
I don’t want this town to be so expensive to live where people don’t wanna live here because of the expense. We already have transportation, you know, getting supplies here and getting out is so expensive.
But I’m hoping that departments are able to fine-tune their expenditures as well as their needs.
Sometimes needs are easily mixed up with wants. But when things fail, that ceases to become a want and it’s need. And if we can avert crises, that’s also a beneficial move.
But grateful for the opportunity to serve. Petersburg’s a great place to live, and I hope to continue to contribute to that.
